


Do I Move You

by gertiemcfuzz



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, personal trainer au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-11
Updated: 2016-07-11
Packaged: 2018-07-22 21:39:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7454839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gertiemcfuzz/pseuds/gertiemcfuzz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lois Lane calls Cat out, publicly challenging her to a battle of the brawn, with three months to prepare, Cat hires Kara Danvers an up-and-coming stunt woman who possesses the skills Cat will need to get her into top shape.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Do I Move You

**Author's Note:**

> I asked for prompts on tumblr to help get rid of my writer's block, which obviously worked because the personal trainer au that was requested was supposed to be 1-2k and is now approaching 10k. Because it's grown out of my control, I've split it into two parts. If you need help with any of the lingo or picturing anything, I used Jessie Graff's instagram as a model :) Here we go yo.

Cat had never been so sore or tired in her life, and she was including the births of both her boys, a torn ACL from a misguided college dare, and the time she’d had to outrun a NSA counterintelligence agent after breaking into a secure facility for a story she’d been writing at the time.

It wasn’t like she was out of shape; on top of running the biggest media conglomerate in the free world, she spent at least an hour in the gym, no less than five days a week. She’d worked with the best of the best, Tracy Anderson was mixing smoothies in her kitchen long before Gwyneth had gooped her, Oprah had only hired Bob Greene after she’d deemed him too easy for her preferences, hell she once made Jillian Michaels cry. This should have been a breeze.

Except Kara Danvers did not break like the rest of them, oh no, she was too goddamn earnest for that.

She should never have been put in this position in the first place, but after Allison Janney destroyed Ellen’s mock-up American Ninja Warrior course the year before, there’d been calls for a more rigorous course to be assembled for a celebrity charity event.

Lois had quickly hitched her horse to that wagon and had publically challenged Cat to a battle of the brawn, obviously lacking the wits to win any other dispute they’d engaged in.

Although, thinking back, Cat wondered if she herself had been a tad mentally unstable on the day she rose to the bait.

She’d immediately began searching for a trainer who would fit her needs; not one of the usuals, who would only want to tone up her body and force her on the newest cleanse; no for this she needed somebody who was trained to perform the feats of agility that she’d be expected to complete in only three months’ time.

Her search led her to Kara Danvers, a young up-and-coming stunt woman. She’d recently wrapped on a big action film, doubling for Anne Hathaway who was starring as an ex-cop who’d been forced to resign after discovering corruption that went all the way to the mayor’s office, making it her mission to take them down and redeem her good name.

Cat had bribed the director to get the uncut footage of all of Kara’s takes, before deciding there was no one better to get her ready in such a short time span.

Kara had been hesitant at first….

_“Miss Grant, with all due respect, I don’t think I’m the person you want for this. I’m an athlete, not a trainer. I can put you in touch with some others, if you’d like; I heard James Olsen has some room for a few new clients or my sister, actually, she trains a ton of people, she even trains me before all of my roles or competitions.” She’d explained, kindly._

_“I don’t want to work with another trainer, I want you. And don’t feed me any lines about not being able to train somebody because half the videos you post on Instagram show you doing just that.” Cat pointed out._

_Kara’s brow furrowed, “Those aren’t clients, they’re other athletes, other stunt women.”_

_“For better or worse, I am preparing to compete in a highly aggressive competition, which will require all the same skills you use on a daily basis, does that not make me an athlete?” She challenged._

_Kara sighed, she wanted to dispute the claim but was sure that she was safer sticking away from that argument._

_“Listen Miss Danvers,” Cat continued, not giving her time to come up with a different excuse, “there’s more at risk here than simple failure. I don’t want to be added to another trainer’s already full roaster, I want to know that I will have my trainer’s undivided attention, and I just happen to know that you’re in-between roles at the moment, so you have the time to give me what I need, and in return, I can give you_ whatever _you want.” She added a hint of flirtation at the end of her spiel, having heard rumors of Kara’s weakness toward the fairer sex during her research._

_Kara regarded her curiously for a moment before relenting. “Fine, but it won’t be easy.”_

_“Miss Danvers, I wouldn’t have chosen you if I thought for a minute that you’d be_ easy.” _Her voice was silk._

_Kara shook her head and pitched a laugh, looking unfazed, “I’ll meet you at my gym on Monday, eat something light with protein before you get there, bring plenty of water, and wear something you can move in; I suggest shorts, you’ll be very hot by the time we’re done.”_

_Cat gave a sharp nod and waved her hand in a clear sign of dismissal before turning away and climbing back into her town car, hollering at her assistant to put it in her schedule. As soon as her door closed and the partition rolled up, she couldn’t help the hint of a smile that appeared on her face, Kara might prove to be just as much of a challenge as the obstacle course itself._

And a challenge she was. They were a month into their training and Cat felt like she was slowly being pushed toward the brink of insanity.

Unlike every other trainer Cat had ever worked with, Kara remained completely unfazed by Cat’s celebrity, by the power and status she held.

Anderson and Greene had used her as a jumping board to Hollywood’s elite; Michaels refused to yield control; and countless others had simply cracked under her constant scrutiny.

Kara apparently held no ulterior motives, as far as Cat knew, she’d even turned down a few other jobs so she could focus entirely on Cat’s training as she’d requested, and when Cat became confrontational, Kara easily redirected their sessions, like when Kara had her running balance drills and Cat threw a fit because her sources claimed that Lois was already making runs at the warp wall; Kara had quickly shifted their workout to incorporate upper body and speed drills in. Cat regretted complaining the next day, when she could barely walk from her bedroom to her kitchen without wanting to cry.

Now she stood in front of the woman she’d placed her professional fate in, giving her an incredulous look.

“You want me to what?” She asked.

Kara merely smiled, “C’mon Cat, just trust me, this will help you get a feel for your footing. It’ll be nothing compared to the course.”

“It’s not the difficulty, I’m worried about, it’s the millions of people that will see me acting like an idiot, when this hits the news.” She huffed, crossing her arms and jutting a hip out, clearly thinking her word was final.

“Only if you let it get spun that way. You have control of the narrative here, jump in front of the story and show your readers how dedicated you are to this competition.” Kara said.

Cat couldn’t argue with that logic, and it would really throw Lois for a loop to see the lengths Cat was willing to go to. She wished it wasn’t a school day, and she could bring Carter along with them, at least then it’d just look like she was playing with her son.

“Fine.” She’d finally relented petulantly.

Which is how she found herself playing a giant game of ‘The Floor is Lava’ throughout National City, while Kara watched and very vocally cheered her on, much to Cat’s disapproval.

“I feel ridiculous,” she ground out as she jumped from a cement block to bench, “I must look like an idiot.”

“You look amazing, as always,” Kara assured with a wink.

That was another thing Cat had been forced to get used to; Kara had quickly caught on to Cat’s attempts to flirt as a way to rattle her and had taken to turning the tables as often and as openly as possible.

Cat just glared at her, clearly not amused at Kara’s attempt at levity.

“Listen, I know you think this is silly, but I’m serious Cat, this is the kind of thing that’s going to give you a leg up on the other competitors, on Lois,” Kara turned serious, “you’re already well on your way to being able to tackle the obstacles themselves, but this is the kind of training that teaches you the problem solving skills that you’ll need to be able to make quick decisions when you’re running the course.”

Cat just huffed, already on the move to her next target. Her resolve to destroy Lois in the impending competition only growing with every ridiculous jump she made.

///

“Have I told you lately that I love you? Because this might be the best thing I’ve seen all week.” Alex said as she threw a tabloid down in front of where Kara was doing a set of inverted push-ups.

Kara took in the picture from her upside down position as best she could, holding in her laughter so she wouldn’t fall from her place against the wall.

The cover of the tabloid showed a picture of Cat hanging from a tree branch as she got ready to jump across to a stoop a few feet away.

“There are a few more inside, including one where the two of you look awfully cozy.” Alex continued to poke fun at her.

Kara finished her set and gently pushed off the wall coming to stand again, the blood rushed away from her head, leaving her a little dizzy, her toes tingling as they regained feeling. She ignored it, bending to pick up the magazine, flipping through it until she found the other pictures Alex was talking about.

She snorted when she saw them, cozy was not the word she’d use to describe the interaction, though she supposed to an outsider it wouldn’t be an unfair leap.

“Well, I had considered just letting her fall, I’m sure a cracked skull wouldn’t slow her down that much.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm, although as she considered it, she realized Cat probably would be the type to play through an injury if it meant beating the competition.

“I’m just saying, it won’t be long before they’re calling you the next Jeanette Jenkins.” Alex laughed again.

Kara rolled her eyes, crossing to the other side of the gym, dropping the magazine in a trashcan along the way. “Muscle ups or laches?” She absentmindedly asked her sister.

“Laches, I know you’ve been dying to play with the new equipment.” Alex answered, bending to grab her sister’s forgotten water bottle before following after her.

“Mmm.” Kara hummed, already eyeing the new set up, Hank sure knew how to run a gym. With a small hop, she grabbed onto the first set of pipe shaped climbing holds. “And, for the record,” she grunted as she pulled herself up with one arm, swinging the other one out to grab hold of a hanging donut ring, “there’s nothing going on there, okay? She was a little overambitious in one of her jumps and I didn’t want her to get hurt. I was just doing my job.”

“Hold it at the end, thirty second lockoffs, each arm.” Alex ordered as she watched Kara swing herself toward the last set of grips. “And I’m just saying Kara, that’s what it looks like to the people reading those things. Personally, I still don’t understand why you agreed to train her; it’s not like you don’t have enough to do.”

Kara shook her head as she grasped onto the last grip, pulling her knees up and letting her left arm drop down, only holding on with her right hand, “It’s a cool opportunity, and look at the publicity I’m getting, that’ll help get my name out there a little bit,” she argued, looking at her sister as she hung, “plus it’s for charity, _and_ just think of how many kids are going to see their favorite celebrities out there kicking butt and want to get active; you know how important that is to me.”

“Right, it’s for the kids,” Alex feigned understanding, “it totally has nothing to do with the giant crush you have on her or anything.”

“I don’t have a crush on her.” Kara argued as she switched arms.

“Really? Because the giant “Cat Grant Show” poster you had hanging in our bedroom when we were kids would disagree.”

“I admire her, that doesn’t make it a crush,” she argued, “and I’d also like to point out that that poster only went up after she interviewed David Belle, she was the only one at the time that wasn’t treating parkour like it was just a bunch of guys hopping around on things, she was really respectful and asked great questions. A lot of people still think she’d one of the reasons the sport is taken more seriously today.” She said as she swung into her dismount, rolling her shoulders back as she walked back toward where Alex stood looking unconvinced.

Alex handed her her water bottle but kept her mouth shut, not wanting to start a disagreement when she’d only meant to poke fun.

“Really Alex,” Kara assured after taking a long swig from her water bottle, “it’s a job, a super cool job, but _just_ a job.”

“Alright.” Alex said with a shrug, deciding to let Kara put an end to their discussion. “So, I may or may not have snuck some new rails onto the order for those holds, want to help me put together a new cliffhanger?”

Kara’s eyes lit up, already moving toward the back office to track down the boxes. Alex followed after her with a smile, wondering if it was too late for her to get in on Lucy’s “How Long Until Kara Bangs Cat Grant” pool.

///

Kara was moving around the temporary gym that was starting to feel like a second home to her. It was originally a CatCo owned distributing center, but it’d been empty for nearly six months after Cat had authorized a move to a larger warehouse further east which would allow the company to print, package, and distribute from one hub. Luckily for them, CatCo’s lease on the building was still good for another year; Cat had quickly handed over the keys to Kara when they’d begun their training, after only one trip to Kara’s gym, she decided she needed a more private space to work in, so she gave Kara her black amex with instructions to convert the space however she needed to get her into top shape.

Kara had corralled Alex and Vasquez into helping her renovate the space; it’d taken almost four full days, but with Hank and James coming to help after the gym closed, they were able to put together a respectable space, Hank had even asked about Cat’s plans for the building after the company’s lease was up, thinking it’d make a good place for an expansion.

She was quickly going through with some Lysol, wiping down the equipment, when she heard the door shove open.

“Just start in on your stretches, and we’ll run through some drills together once you’re warmed up.” She called out without looking back as she stepped up to get one of the pull up bars she had set up.

When she didn’t get a response she turned around, seeing a small boy standing nervously in the doorway instead of Cat.

“Oh, uh, hi.” Kara said, setting the cleaner down and wiping her hands against her pants as she walked over to where he stood.

As she got closer she noticed the barely-there fleck of green in his eyes, “You must be Carter.” She realized.

His eyes flicked to hers briefly, before turning toward the floor, only giving her the barest hint of a nod.

“It’s nice to meet you Carter,” she continued to smile at him, remembering Cat mentioning that he was shy, “I’m assuming your mom is with you? Unless you flew here, in which case I would definitely need you to teach me how to do that.”

He smiled just slightly at that, eyes quickly finding hers again before retreating, “She’s on the phone with my dad.” He explained so quietly Kara had to turn her ear toward him to hear it.

“We’ll leave her to it then.” Kara said. “Would you like something to drink? Your mom is only allowed to have water when she’s here but I think I have some juice stashed away for my sister in the fridge, if you’d like.” She offered.

Carter just shrugged and Kara nodded, “Okay, how ‘bout I just bring you both and you can decide later.” She stated more than asked, already moving toward the door to the small kitchenette. Once she reached the fridge she pulled out enough water for all three of them, as well as a juice for Carter.

When she got back, Cat was standing in front of her son, brushing her fingers through his hair, whispering quietly to him, a look of complete adoration on her face.

“Ah, Kiera, there you are.” Cat said when she saw her approaching, straightening while she put a protective arm around her son’s shoulders in a way that was clearly instinctual.

Kara raised her eyebrows at the odd misuse of her name but brushed it off. “Cat,” she greeted as she handed her a bottle of water, setting her own by her feet before turning to Carter, “and for Carter…” she held out a bottle of water and a bottle of organic strawberry banana juice, “I usually stick to water so I can’t make any promises, but my sister swears by that stuff.” She told him as he gently took it from her.

Cat watched the interaction with piqued interest, “Well, shall we?” She interrupted after a few seconds, making a show of acting bored, though Kara knew better.

“Of course,” Kara answered. “Ready to see how strong your mom is?” She asked Carter.

Cat rolled her eyes at Kara, but turned a soft smile to her son, “Kiera’s going to make me run around like a maniac, but you are welcome to read your comics over here or you can play on your tablet, and if you need anything-”

“It’s okay mom, I’m good.” He promised, and Kara smiled at finally hearing his voice above a whisper.

Cat nodded, pressing a soft kiss to his curls before releasing him and following Kara to start their workout.

It was pretty standard, Kara set a rigorous pace, Cat cursed a little, Kara laughed and pushed harder. She looked back a few times to find Carter watching them curiously, she was sure to send him a kind smile each time, hoping he wasn’t too uncomfortable being stuck there on his Saturday morning.

They were a little over halfway through when she felt a presence at her side, she looked down to find Carter watching his mom carefully, “What’s she doing?” he finally asked Kara.

“She is working on building up her upper body strength.” Kara answered, gently.

“By hanging there?” He asked.

“Yep, see how she has her arms bent so her chin is above the bar?” when she saw his nod she continued, “that’s like being stuck in a never-ending pull-up, it’ll help prep your mom’s arms for some of the harder stuff she’ll have to do when she’s competing later this summer.”

“Why though? She’s already really strong.”

“Well, there’s a difference between being really strong and having stamina. Your mom is really strong, but even really strong people get tired; I’m helping your mom so that that she can get more done before she gets tired.”

“Oh.” He answered before turning to her with a twinkle in his eye, “What else can you make her do?”

Kara laughed, half at his sudden enthusiasm and half at the idea that she could make Cat Grant do anything. “You want to hang out and see?” She asked.

He nodded, already back to watching his mom.

For the next hour, he followed Kara around the gym as she led his mom through her workout, cheering her on as she went, Kara noted how Cat seemed to flourish under her son’s watchful eye, and made a note to invite him around for more of their training sessions. She could tell he was really starting to get into it when he hopped in and started going through some of the exercises with her.

“Like this Kara?”

“Almost, bend your knees a little bit to help you stay balanced…good, look at that, you catch on quicker than your mom.”

They finally finished a little before noon, Kara knew Cat had to be exhausted after braving their workout but she wasn’t letting it show.

“Did you see that mom? I got almost as much as you.” Carter was practically bouncing where he stood.

“I did, you were excellent, my love.”

“Kara’s a really good teacher.” He told her seriously, Kara couldn’t help the slight blush at his words.

“She is.” Cat agreed, looking up at her, noting her bashful expression.

Carter turned toward her too, trying his best to maintain eye contact, “Thanks for showing me all that stuff.”

“Of course Carter, thanks for helping me with your mom’s workout, I enjoyed having a co-trainer, you are more than welcome to come back anytime.” She said.

He nodded, looking proud of himself, “Mom and I are going to go get lunch, do you want to come?” He asked.

“I wish I could,” she said, looking to Cat to gauge her reaction to the invite, “but I promised my sister that I’d bring her some lunch at work today. Maybe another time?” She suggested.

He nodded, giving her a shy smile.

Cat had watched the interaction impassively, but Kara could tell she was more interested than she let on.

“Carter, why don’t you go grab your things, then we can go.”

He nodded, making his way past them both to pick up his things, taking the empty juice bottle he’d left behind to the kitchen to throw away.

“Thank you, for being so good with him.” Cat said once he was out of earshot.

Kara waved her off, “He’s a great kid, really you should bring him around more, I think he enjoys seeing how good you are at this.”

Cat couldn’t help the look of pride that crossed her face, knowing it was true. Before she had the chance to say anything else, Carter was back by her side.

Kara reached out quickly to give him a small fist bump, “Bye Carter, goodbye Cat.”

“Bye Kara!”

“Kara.”

She watched them walk out of the gym with a fond smile before looking down at her watch and cursing, she’d have to get moving if she had any hope of getting lunch to Alex before her break ended.

///

Cat dropped from the bar for the third time. They were getting closer and closer to the competition, and Kara had set up a makeshift course in their gym. Cat had been trying to run it for a week and so far she hadn’t made it past the fourth obstacle; it was obviously starting to aggravate her if the way she was pounding her fists into the mat underneath her were anything to go by.

“Okay…” Kara started, hoping to avert a break-down, Cat had to be back to the office soon for a late night business call with one of her overseas affiliates, and Kara didn’t want them to end their work out on a sour note.

She was about to launch into her ‘get back on the horse’ speech but Cat held up her hand to stop her, still lying flat on the mat, knees pulled up as if she were about to launch into a set of crunches, her left hand still curled into a tight fist at her side. Once she heard Kara halt her approach she let her right arm come to rest over her eyes, allowing herself a minute to be disappointed.

She mentally counted back from sixty in her head, drawing in steady breaths, as she did, to calm her racing heart. When she reached zero, she calmly placed her hands on either side of her waist and pushed herself up. She walked quietly toward her bag and began to pack her things away, avoiding Kara’s eye the whole time.

“Cat, we still have thirty minutes.” Kara said as she walked up behind her, trying to sound firm despite her growing unease.

She’d seen Cat mad, she’d watched her rage as Kara pushed her to her limits, she’d spent the last six days in a spiral of anger and frustration as Cat tried and failed to complete the course she’d built, but the calmness radiating off of the other woman now scared her more than any of it.

“That will be enough for the night Kiera.” Cat corrected, still facing the wall as she shuffled around in her bag for her keys.

“We still have some time before you need to leave, let’s just take a breath, go through some cool down stretches.” Kara suggested.

“I won’t be requiring a cool down tonight,” Cat replied evenly, “in fact, I don’t believe I’ll be requiring your services at all anymore, thank you for your time, I wish you the best of luck in your pursuits.”

“But there’s still three weeks until the competition.” Kara said, not understanding what she’d done wrong for Cat to replace her.

“I will not be participating in the competition, obviously, I’m not in any shape to do so; I’ll talk to the producers in the morning so I can have my name removed, with luck, they’ll be able to replace me in time.”

“Cat, let’s just back up,” Kara started, following after the other woman as she started to make her way to the door, “Cat, stop, let’s talk about this first.”

Her words fell on deaf ears, Cat pushed through the door – Kara hot on her heals – she dug through her purse, grabbing for her keys and bringing the fob up to unlock her car, tossing her purse into her passenger seat before climbing in after it.

“Cat, come on, I know you’re frustrated-” Kara kept trying, reaching out a hand to keep the driver’s side door from closing.

“Miss Danvers, I have a call waiting, and this matter is not up for discussion. If you’re worried about your payment, I can assure you I will have a check cut for the full amount I promised you in the morning.”

“It’s not about the money, I don’t care about that, I just want to-” Kara wasn’t able to finish her thought as Cat pulled hard, yanking the door out of her grasp, closing it tightly before putting the car in reverse, leaving Kara to watch her taillights as she wondered what the hell had just happened.


End file.
